Abstract
This study was conducted to determine the impact of different concentrations (25, 37.5 and 50 mg kg-1 soil) of chromium (Cr) on growth, photosynthetic pigments, protein content, proline content, activities of antioxidant enzymes and seed yield of Cichorium intybus in a pot experiment. The results revealed that all the Cr treatments significantly (P </= 0.05) reduced the growth, photosynthetic pigments (chlorophyll a, chlorophyll b and total chlorophyll and carotenoids contents), protein content and seed yield in C. intybus. The activities of catalase (CAT), superoxide dismutase (SOD), peroxidase (POD) and proline content in C. intybus leaves increased significantly (P </= 0.05) with increasing levels of Cr treatments. Cr accumulation was found greater in the roots than in the shoots and enhanced with increasing Cr concentrations. Hence, C. intybus may serve as a bio-meter of Cr in Cr contaminated soils.
Highlights
Heavy metals are the elements having a specific gravity of more than 5g/cm-3 that often accumulate in the soil because of uncontrolled waste dumping, mining, widespread use of pesticides and chemical fertilizers [1, 2]
This study was conducted to determine the impact of different concentrations (25, 37.5 and 50 mg kg -1 soil) of chromium (Cr) on growth, photosynthetic pigments, protein content, proline content, activities of antioxidant enzymes and seed yield of Cichorium intybus in a pot experiment
The results revealed that all the Cr treatments significantly (P ≤ 0.05) reduced the growth, photosynthetic pigments, protein content and seed yield in C. intybus
Summary
Heavy metals are the elements having a specific gravity of more than 5g/cm-3 that often accumulate in the soil because of uncontrolled waste dumping, mining, widespread use of pesticides and chemical fertilizers [1, 2]. The toxicity of Cr affects plant growth by inducing ultrastructural changes of the chloroplast and cell membrane, damaging root cells, decreasing photosynthetic pigments, affecting mineral nutrition and water relations, disturbing nitrogen assimilation and transpiration and altering the activities of various enzymes [10, 11]. All these toxic effects of Cr have been attributed to the overproduction of a massive amount of reactive oxygen species (ROS), disrupting the redox balance in plants [11]. The translocation and distribution of Cr within plants depend on its concentration in the growth medium, the oxidation state of the Cr ions and on the plant species [12]
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